Yakuza

Work In Progress This article is still under construction. It may contain factual errors. See Talk:Yakuza for current discussions. Content is subject to change.

Yakuza North American box art Release Date: PlayStation 2 December 2005 (JP) September 2006 (WW) PlayStation 3 November 2012 (JP) Wii U August 2013 (JP) Developer: SEGA Publisher: SEGA Series: Yakuza Platforms: PS2 PS3 Wii U Genre: JRPG, Brawler

Yakuza (JP:龍が如く Ryuu ga Gotoku lit. "Like a Dragon") is a video game for the Sony PlayStation 2. The Japanese version was released in December 2005, with a worldwide release following in September 2006. A Japan-only HD remaster was released as a bundle with the game's sequel on the PlayStation 3 in 2012 and the Nintendo Wii U in 2013. An HD remake of the game, Yakuza Kiwami, was released in 2016 in Japan and August 2017 in the rest of the world. The game follows protagonist Kazuma Kiryu (voiced by Daryl Kurylo in the English dub), who serves 10 years in prison for killing his yakuza family patriarch, a killing actually committed by his kyoudai Akira "Nishiki" Nishikiyama in order to protect their childhood friend and mutual love interest Yumi Sawamura. When he comes out in December 2005, he finds that the world he left behind in Tokyo's Kamurocho red-light district has changed beyond recognition: Nishiki has become a tyrant bent on killing him, Yumi is nowhere to be found, and 10 billion yen has mysteriously disappeared from the coffers of their yakuza clan, the Tojo, sending them into a crisis.
Yakuza has the distinction of being the only title in the series whose western release features a full English-speaking voice cast, including the likes of Mark Hamill as Goro Majima and Dwight Schultz as Kage. Unlike Judgment however, there is no option to choose the original Japanese voice language. It is also the only game prior to Judgment to feature other European language text options than English (only available in the PAL region), and the only game in the series to have a UK English localization for the PAL version.

Note: an emulator was used to capture very high-resolution screenshots of this game for clarity. This upscaling required the disabling of some post-processing effects due to resulting graphical glitches. All screenshots have been checked against original PS2 footage to ensure that any glitches noted on this page are also present in the PS2 version.

WARNING! THIS PAGE CONTAINS SPOILERS!

The following weapons appear in the video game Yakuza:

Handguns

AMT Hardballer

The AMT Hardballer, a derivative of the Colt 1911 with a long slide for better power and accuracy, is the handgun of choice for Nishiki. Kiryu takes it after Nishiki used it to kill their family patriarch Sohei Dojima for kidnapping and trying to rape Yumi in the 1995 flashback at the beginning of the game. He also uses it in a scene 10 years later.

AMT Hardballer longslide - .45 ACP

Kiryu with the Hardballer. Note the long slide. Also, Kiryu shouldn't have his finger on the trigger, even if Nishiki did "empty the entire clip" into Dojima.

Nishiki decided to play Hard Ball with his boss after he tried to "hurt" (as in, rape) Yumi. The fact that Nishiki's hand is bleeding through the trigger shows that it is the same shape as the Hardballer's. It should be noted that this was cropped from a very high-resolution screenshot, and the finger bleeding through would have been very hard to spot playing this game on a PS2 at 480i resolution. The model does however appear to be too small in scale.

Nishiki's subordinate says his last word after he and subordinate #2 killed Yumi's "sister" Mizuki (she's not actually Yumi's sister, and the woman they killed is not Mizuki... yeah, it's complicated.)

Having blown an 11.4-millimetre hole in the first subordinate's skull, Nishiki turns to subordinate #2, who is now cowering on the floor.

Nishiki then ventilates him, to the horror of three subordinates who have burst in after hearing the gunshot. Note how the shell casings are green (they're supposed to have a golden bloom effect but they still look green even then.)

After emptying the clip like 10 years before, Nishiki discards the pistol on the floor, its slide back.

Colt Combat Commander with Seecamp double action conversion/Colt Gold Cup National Match

A Colt Combat Commander with Seecamp double action conversion, a pistol based on the Colt 1911, is seen in the hands of Haruka Sawamura in the Bacchus bar. It also features the standard-shaped hammer, front sight, angled cocking serrations, and Pachmayr grips seen on versions of the Colt Gold Cup National Match, as well as having its .45-calibre barrel.

Colt Combat Commander with Seecamp double-action conversion - 9x19mm Parabellum

Colt Gold Cup National Match (Mark IV, Series 70) with Pachmayr grips - .45 ACP

Haruka with the Colt. Note the shape of the trigger guard and shape and location of the trigger itself, as well as the shape of the rear sights, all of which are consistent with the Seecamp double action conversion. Conversely, the angled cocking serrations, Pachmayr grips, and .45-calibre barrel are features of the Gold Cup National Match, indicating a hybrid gun.

Glock 36

MIA agents (including their leader Kyohei Jingu) use Glock 36 sub-compact handguns with grip extensions on the magazines. This is a highly unusual firearm that has not made a known appearance in any other video game. However, it can be identified as a 36 rather than the far more common 26 (and its differently chambered variants) due to the lack of the frame bulge for the double-stack magazine. Instead, like the Glock 36, the whole of the frame sits flush with the slide.

Glock 36 - .45 ACP

Front view of the Glock. Note how the slide is flush with the frame.

Left-side view of the Glock. The features from the right side: the extractor, lack of magazine and slide releases, and "Made in Austria" markings on the frame, are also present on the left.

Since the left side of the Glock model already has a chamber, they decided to just cut out the bit where the chamber is supposed to be.

Jingu fires the Glock. The animation here is "interesting." However, let's not forget that this game originally came out in 2005. Try finding a more detailed gun model than this in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Nambu Model 60

The Nambu Model 60 is used by police officers in the game. Like the Glock, the textures are symmetrical, and thus the cylinder release is also seen on the right side of the gun.

Nambu Model 60 snub-nose - .38 special

Officers come to arrest Kiryu, Nambu Model 60s drawn.

Officers once again come to arrest Kiryu 10 years later in the ruins of Ares. The 5-shot cylinder of the Model 60 can be seen here.

Shotguns

Winchester Model 1912

A shotgun based mostly on the Winchester Model 1912 appears in various places in the game. Its presence is most notable during the side mission "My Lover is a Show Girl," where it is used by a hitman in disguise as a dancing girl. It does however have a differently shaped pump handle, and there appears to be no connection between the barrel and magazine tube at the front. The stock appears to be from the original model, whereas the shorter barrel is like that of the riot model. Also, the barrel does not taper outward towards the receiver end. Note: the ghosting is an effect of the PlayStation 2's interlaced video output and cannot be avoided.

Winchester Model 1912 - 12 gauge

The hitman comes on stage, shotgun in hand...

...before slinging it over the shoulder. Note the shorter barrel, like that of the riot model.

Having been caught out, the hitman racks the handle...

...takes aim, and fires.

Kiryu throws himself and Yuya out of the way as the shot travels in bullet time, instead putting an end to an unsuspecting elderly salaryman's days.

Having evaded the shot, Kiryu prepares to wipe the smug grin off the hitman's face.

Submachine Guns

Heckler & Koch MP5A3

A Snake Flower triad member tries to assassinate Kiryu with a Heckler & Koch MP5A3, but Kiryu uses one of his triad comrades as a human shield. It appears to be fitted with an RIS forearm, and the cocking paddle is on the wrong side. For some reason, the sound of the gun is more like that of an assault rifle or machine gun rather than a 9mm SMG.

MP5A3 - 9x19mm

The triad unloads on his mate...

...before reloading for another try. Note how his hand is bleeding through the grip. This is the full frame, and the IMFDB preview size of 600 pixels is actually smaller than what a PS2 player would have seen. Also, this is a pre-rendered cutscene, so it's not as if they can claim it was a result of an unexpected bug on home consoles. They actually rendered the video to look like this and decided it was fine. Well, it could be a lot worse...